It's rare that we bring anywhere close to what is actually logged in. At peak last night we had 45 on cwho.
This is a true statement. While Ashtan normally outnumbers us, most of them really aren't interested in raiding. It's rare that you guys are able to get more than a quarter of the people interested in raiding, unless things in that respect have changed since I left.
I am retired and log into the forums maybe once every 2 months. It was a good 20 years, live your best lives, friends.
That's fine though. Making people do something they really don't want to do just causes people to get bitter. Is why I personally think manditory offense and defence is a terrible idea, but each to their own.
Even if we ignore that Shallam learns combat very slowly and Ashtan has range superiority, it is not feasible to raid Ashtan. Ashtan's CWHO is usually nearly double ours, and if we raid all the dragons off plane/on boats/etc come back and then it's like 30 vs. 5-10-15 and it's not fun.
And that is also ignoring that every time Shallam raids Ashtan, as soon as our raid is over, we have 20+ people inside Shallam raiding because they are pissed and want revenge.
Not going to argue with you. Saying that Ashtan is rolling 30 deep in defence constantly isn't going to make it true though (I've lead most of Ashtan's defences, I've never had 30 following me). Twenty is a more sensible number. Its also how big my enemy list regularly gets fighting Shallam.
You can say we don't want to raid because we don't like fighting large groups, but claiming you're vastly outnumbered at all times is false. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to raid, saying its impossible is just untrue though.
I'm going to have to agree with Shallam's revenge raid problem, though. It seems if they DO find a time when they are not outnumbered/Tanris isn't on, they get revenge raped pretty hard. Ashtan may have to control that.
But eh, I can understand what Ashtan is feeling too. Back when I was an Ashtanoob I felt pretty obliged to revenge raid Shallam hard if they raided when fewer Ashtani were around (mainly because when Shallam raided when there were fewer Ashtani they either overdid it with numbers and sometimes even guard killed due to pent up frustration).
Getting losts in all the posts is the fact Ashtan's 30 person cwho is made up of like 20 dragons most of them artied. Shallam doesn't even have 20 active dragons period.
Getting losts in all the posts is the fact Ashtan's 30 person cwho is made up of like 20 dragons most of them artied. Shallam doesn't even have 20 active dragons period.
That would depend on what you want to do. Personally, my experience is people don't get very interested by sanctioned raids. They're not good for retaining players, as the deaths almost always outweigh the gains from room destruction if you bring roughly equal numbers, and they're also boring: the worst of both worlds. Border raids or mobile city skirmishes are what most people enjoy.
Shallam (for all practical purposes), is a super buffed Mhaldor without soulspear and blackwind. These two abilities, while awesome, do not define Mhaldor's real capabilities. Mhaldor's strength lies in gravehands and beckon, which allows for the splitting of groups or forcing people out of prepped rooms into theirs.
If by entrench you mean the ability to hunker down 40 rooms from the defenders and keep them from rushing, yes, Ashtan with the right people will likely own you and make your raid group thoroughly disgruntled and miserable. On the other hand, if you fight in close quarters and make intelligent use of beckon, rites, and your extremely potent ally support, that's a very different story. Entrenchment does not need to mean fortify miles from the fight to avoid melee and try to tank the best ranged on the game for as long as possible. It can (and should be considered if you want to have success with those abilities) mean forcing enemies to fight on your terms in rooms that you have prepped to give you advantage.
(I define success here not by rooms destroyed or kills earned. I define it by how fun and engaging it was for your group, and whether it will make those not completely invested players in your faction wish to stick around and do it again.)
@Akia: I was saving that image. NOW I CAN NEVER USE IT.
The problem with Ashtan ('s population) is that it encourages this laissez-faire attitude, and a hugely overpopulated city (by Achaean standards), with none of the risks. There is no squalor, no disease; there are no unregulated thugs mugging people in the streets. The orphans getting culled are a do-nothing resource with no real effect beyond lolchaos. It's a Dickensian ghetto that hosts a not-so-hidden Lovecraftian doomsday cult, and despite all expectations, it's probably the safest place to live.
While that's mostly a problem of design, it all feeds into the raid superiority. A city built this way is going to attract the people who want to raid everything, and who will naturally become better at raiding. (Mostly, it's probably just because Tanris makes things fun for his guys.) If the game's to be truly balanced,
Ashtan needs to be a harder place to live, by demanding more from its citizens (Mhaldor, Eleusis) and/or some other recurring hazard;
Other cities need more engaging RP environments (Babel etc.) to retain/attract;
Those cities need to support player initiatives that cull the more toxic parts of their culture, admin-led if necessary.
These are the only three that might need external reinforcement. Everything else -- a solid core of interesting characters, more combatants, et cetera -- will happen naturally.
Comments
I'd rather raid that honey badger Mhaldor.
Not going to argue with you. Saying that Ashtan is rolling 30 deep in defence constantly isn't going to make it true though (I've lead most of Ashtan's defences, I've never had 30 following me). Twenty is a more sensible number. Its also how big my enemy list regularly gets fighting Shallam.
You can say we don't want to raid because we don't like fighting large groups, but claiming you're vastly outnumbered at all times is false. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to raid, saying its impossible is just untrue though.
Raid Ashtan more often and we won't always have a reason to retaliate, in that we haven't sanctioned anyone in a week.
Cascades of quicksilver light streak across the firmament as the celestial voice of Ourania intones, "Oh Jarrod..."
While that's mostly a problem of design, it all feeds into the raid superiority. A city built this way is going to attract the people who want to raid everything, and who will naturally become better at raiding. (Mostly, it's probably just because Tanris makes things fun for his guys.) If the game's to be truly balanced,
- Ashtan needs to be a harder place to live, by demanding more from its citizens (Mhaldor, Eleusis) and/or some other recurring hazard;
- Other cities need more engaging RP environments (Babel etc.) to retain/attract;
- Those cities need to support player initiatives that cull the more toxic parts of their culture, admin-led if necessary.
These are the only three that might need external reinforcement. Everything else -- a solid core of interesting characters, more combatants, et cetera -- will happen naturally.Also, these are terrible logs.